Wang bought UK luxury yacht maker Sunseeker for $1.6 billion and is planning billion-dollar luxury hotel developments in London and New York.

Home prices in many Chinese cities continued to set records last year despite a four-year government campaign to cool the housing market, official data showed.<ID:3N0KT04X>

Lee Shau Kee, chairman and founder Henderson Land Development Co Ltd (0012.HK) and No. 3 on the global top 10 property developer’s list, saw his personal wealth shrink last year, dropping 9 percent to $21 billion. Developer Robert Kuok of the Kuok Group and No. 4 on the list, saw his fortune fall 16 percent to $16 billion.

In China, a country that is still transforming itself into a fully market-oriented economy, close ties between business and politics were also apparent.

Among the 358 Chinese billionaires, 87 had senior political associations. Fifty-six are members of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and 31 are members of

National People’s Congress (NPC), according to Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of Hurun Report Inc.